Set in 2,000 acres of North Yorkshire countryside, Ampleforth College, the world’s foremost provider of Catholic education, has announced the introduction of BTECs in Countryside Management, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and Hospitality, supporting its unique location and ambition to provide a holistic education for its pupils.

With notable Old Amplefordian’s including Lord Bamford and Masterchef finalist Joey O’Hare, the school already prides itself on offering a broad curriculum, with 17 subjects to choose from, and the BTECs will further enhance the school’s practical portfolio of subjects, available to Years 12 and 13 from September 2018.

Countryside Management will explore the legal and practical side of managing an estate and builds on Ampleforth’s already thriving gamekeeping activities, while Enterprise and Entrepreneurship will give students the skills they need to feel confident in running their own business. Hospitality will focus on event management as well as the importance of the hospitality industry for the economy.

Students can choose to study only BTECs, or to follow a mixed pathway of one or two BTECs alongside one or two A Levels. The courses will be led by Harriet Thompson, Assistant Head Academic Development, who joined Ampleforth late last year and reports into Director of Studies Hannah Pomroy.

Harriet says: “At Ampleforth, we pride ourselves on offering an education which not only helps our pupils flourish academically but sets them up for when they leave the school. We’re so excited to be offering BTEC courses to our students and have already had such positive feedback from parents and pupils alike. BTECs offer a practical way of learning by doing for students and will really take advantage of Ampleforth’s magnificent setting and help to embed our core values even further into the curriculum.”

About Ampleforth

Set in one of North Yorkshire’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Ampleforth is the UK’s largest and most forward-looking Benedictine community.

Steered by a moral ‘Compass for Life’ nurtured by the Benedictine ethos, children are taught at co-educational Ampleforth College (11-18) where 70% of leavers go on to Russell Group and Sutton Trust Top 30 Universities. Ampleforth also runs a Permanent Private Hall in the University of Oxford, St Benet’s Hall.

Ampleforth was established in 1802 when the monks returned to England following a 200-year exile in France following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The famous Abbey orchard now has some 2,000 trees and more than 40 varieties of apples, some of which are used to make the famous Ampleforth Abbey Cider and Apple Liqueur.

The Abbey also started selling Ampleforth Abbey Beer in 2012. Derived from a 17th century recipe in the Belgian Trappist style, the beer is brewed in partnership with local brewery Little Valley Brewery.

Article originally appeared on The Catholic Voice of Lancaster (http://www.catholicvoiceoflancaster.co.uk/).